Left to die
With nowhere to run, civilians try to survive eastern Ukraine's war
Christopher Miller & Evgeny Feldman
DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine — After a relatively calm December in war-torn eastern Ukraine, fighting exploded anew in January, as Russian-backed rebels went on the offensive to capture more towns and expand the territory of their fledgling quasi-state.The conflict between the rebels and Ukrainian government forces has raged for 10 months, killing more than 5,000 people and displacing around 1 million others.After heavy civilian and military casualties during the recent surge in hostilities, leaders from Kiev and Moscow, as well as the U.S., France and Germany are urging for an immediate cease-fire and solution to bring the violence to an end. But they are struggling to strike a peace deal that will stick and silence each sides' weapons for good.Nobody has suffered more during the uptick in violence than civilians caught in the crossfire. The town of Debaltseve, a strategic transit hub 45 northeast of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, has been particularly hard hit. Its buildings have been all but razed to the ground. Several thousands of its 25,000 residents have managed to escape through a precarious corridor to neighboring Artemivsk, but thousands remain there, enduring hellish conditions.Evgeny Feldman, a photographer for the Russian publication Novaya Gazeta, and I spent this week inside the town, documenting the fighting and the worsening humanitarian situation.
They have been living without electricity, gas and running water for weeks, and food is in short supply.<br>
They emerge only briefly from basements to cook food on an open flame, puff on cigarettes and find out when the next evacuation buses will arrive.<br>
